Life Anew
by qkslvr
Summary: THe war has ended. Duo tries to see what's in store for him adn decides to start again. Where to? L2, where else?
1. One

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. No money made. No nothing.

**Warnings: **a.k.a. Spoilers. Actually, I don't think this has any spoilers seeing as I wasn't able to see the whole thing. But, I assure you, this has no connection whatever to the whole series, even the OVA. Oh yeah, jus the characters. ^_____^

**Notes: **Hmm…what do I say? Oh, this is my first GW fic ever posted. I think I wrote some in the past (a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…) Annnnnnyway…enjoy!****

**LIFE ANEW**

**Chapter One**

I balanced the bag on my shoulder and lifted the suitcase from the sidewalk. It's a bright day outside, the sun is shining, birds are chirping, there are children playing. Funny how I never noticed that before.

I turned to look at the house behind me. For almost six months, it had been my home. During that time, I got to share it with the people I care about, my friends. Now, I look at it and see the door that's almost out of its hinges, its paint cracked on different places, the porch light that never seemed to get fixed and the chairs that sat there, facing each other. The house looks old, cold, barren. Funny how I never noticed it before as well.

Sighing to myself, I walked down the road and hailed a taxi. For almost six months I lived here, but now, I have to go. Giving the house one last look, I got in the cab and told the driver my destination.

The airport.

Truthfully, I have no idea where I'm supposed to go now. The airport just seems to be the most sensible place to go. This is not my home, these are not my people, nothing's holding me back here, so why stay?

~~

The plane touched down from under me. I can feel its machines roaring as its tires made contact with the ground. Looking out the window, I see another aircraft as it glided along the runway and enter the hangar, positioning itself to a pathway that connects to the actual building.

Checking to see if I have everything with me, I closed my eyes and leaned on my chair. This would be a new start for me, this place would be where I can live again. Without the war, without the killing machines, without bloodshed, without everything. Most of all, from this day forth, I'll start not as a killing machine myself, but just Duo Maxwell, a sixteen year-old boy.

"Thank you for flying with us. Please enjoy your stay at L2 colony."

~*~

The whole place was busy, passengers were coming and going, so no one really noticed when I went out of the airport and stepped into the streets. Good enough for me.

Taking in a deep breath, I looked around, deciding on which direction I should go. The whole place changed since the last time I've been here.__

_When was it? Two years ago? Five?_

I stood there for a few moments more, still unsure of my destination when my stomach grumbled a complaint. I realized I haven't eaten since…_this morning. Is it just this morning? It seemed so long ago…_

I saw a restaurant at the street across from me and started to walk towards it. When I entered, the smell of freshly made bread attacked my senses and I seemed to get weak on my knees.

I didn't realize how hungry I was until the food was sitting in front of me and I ravaged it like a wild animal.

"Hey, man! Slow down! The food's not gonna run away, y'know!"

I looked up from my plate to the person standing in front of me. He was of medium-built, brown hair, cerulean eyes, and looked about 20 something.__

_He looks like…_

"Hiya! My name's Jason! Ya new here?"

Jason smiled and sat at the seat across from me. I looked at him cautiously. I may be gone for long, but I know this place like the back of my hand, and I know the people here. Thieves, crooks, and criminals of all forms and sizes infest this place. He, however, continued to smile at me. "Don't worry. I ain't here to grab yer bags and leave ya naked in a dark alley. I work here. I'm just off for the time bein so I thought I'd make friends."

Friends? Here I am, sitting in this deli situated in a place that was both familiar and strange to me at the same time and there's this guy, one that I barely know, sitting in front of me, offering friendship? Well, the next time thugs go in this place, I know who'll go down first.

"C'mon! I'm not contagious! At least not THAT contagious!" And he laughed to himself. I don't get it, it's not funny.

"Duo."

He stopped laughing and looked at me. "Huh?"

"You want my name? It's Duo."

He smiled and shook my hand. After that, he proceeded to tell me of his exploits. How his last neighbor got mad at the other neighbor's cat and decided to broil it over hot coal, how he was supposed to get a tattoo the other day, but he can't decide which one he wanted that the owner told him to come back in a month, and other stuff that seemed to fail to register to my brain. I'm tired. I sat in the plane with a passenger who seemed to refuse me and the other passengers about five rows up and down of sleep with his snores. Before that, I didn't get much rest because I was too busy packing my stuff and feeling a bit nostalgic about leaving the house. He must've noticed this, because he got this worried look on his face and he stopped talking to look at me. Then again, maybe it was the fact that I've stifled five yawns already that gave it away.

"Hey, man. You seem tired. You got a place to stay?"

I looked at him, surprised at his suggestion. Yep, this guy's really gonna go down first. Before I can utter a word, he was out of his chair and talking to the guy behind the counter, telling him that he'll take the leave for the night. He disappeared behind a door for a while and came back wearing a blue unbuttoned shirt with a white T-shirt underneath and faded jeans. He walked over to me; "You can stay at my place for the night. You look like you need some rest."

I looked at him, about to reject his offer when my body decided for me and another yawn escaped. He smiled and made a motion to grab my bag. Snapping awake, my hands flew to the handle and I gave him a look that said 'don't you dare'. At least that's what I was hoping for. He laughed and raised his hands up, "Easy! I told ya, I'm not gonna hurt ya. Fine, you take it, just come with me."

His apartment was two blocks away from the deli and five floors up the building. Smells of liquor, cigarette, sex and a hint of what I think is pot crept up my nose the moment we entered the building.

"Sorry about that. This is the cheapest place I can find that was near where I work. You'll get used to it."

I smiled at him and looked around. I don't think I'll ever get used to this.__

_Then again, I also thought that I'd never get used to the idea of killing people…_

He opened the door and what appeared in front of me was a startling contrast to what I've seen of the building. The place was…clean. It was almost bare, but it was clean.

"Hey! Ya gonna come in, or what?!"

I looked at him and realized that I was still standing outside the door. I walked in and dropped my bags beside the couch.

"Well, this is my place. I don't have much, but I live." He smiled. "Over there is the kitchen," he pointed to a small corner, where a table was pushed against the wall and a sink was obviously clean despite its oldness. "There's my room," he motioned to a door, "This is the bathroom," he pointed to another door at the far end of the room. "And this is where'll you'll be staying." He pointed to the couch. "I don't know where you come from or what kinda living yer used to, but this is all I can offer you for now."

I walked over to the couch and sat, "Thanks."

His face brightened, "AH! He speaks! Man, I thought for a while you were kinda mute. But alas, I was wrong."

I snorted. He smiled. "Well, I'll let ya settle in for the night, eh? Oh wait," he went into his room and later came out with a pillow and an old blanket, "Here ya go. It gets kinda cold here in the middle fo the night. Okay, sleep tight!" and once again, he disappeared into his room leaving me sitting on the couch.

I looked around the place. It was small, but livable. Placing the pillow on one end of the couch and puffing it to perfection, I laid my head on it and covered myself with the old, beat-up blanket.

First day in L2 and here I am, sleeping on someone's couch, in someone's apartment. What a way to start anew. I wonder what's in store for me here…

AN: There ya go. Sorry if Duo seemed OOC. But the whole thing's about his thoughts that I didn't feel the need to make him talk. But, I promise, in the next chapter, I'll let him talk more. Heh, his voice is gonna be so coarse after a long time of not speaking. Hehe. But of course, to have another chapter, I must know if someone's at least reading this thing…*coughreviewcough* ^_____^


	2. Two

**Disclaimer: **I don't get it. I write this thing on every story I do and I still get calls from those stupid Law firms! What? What's so hard to understand about me not owning GW?! WHAAATTT?!

HEERO Hn. Baka.

Q: Eh?

DUO: uhm…qkslvr, I think those calls were from your credit card bill that you haven't paid since…well, forever *blinks innocently*

Q: NANI?! I…uh…oh, okay…hehehe. Oi, but Jason's mine. Ehehehe…I mean Jason's an original character, not really mine. ^_^;;****

**Warning: **Cheesy chapter. Poverty. Yaoi alert (sort of). Aside from that, if you count bad writing…well, add that as well. ^_^;;

**Notes: **WOOHOO!!!! I'm on the faves list of one member! A-ri-ga-tou Kaede-chan…you have NO IDEA how much you made my day…you know what? I love you now…hehe. And to show you my gratitude…I dedicate this chapter for you…*insert sentimental music*

**LIFE ANEW**

**Chapter Two**

I woke up to the smell of fried eggs. Stretching in the couch, I felt my whole body throb at my cramped position. But aside from that drawback, I had a goodnight's sleep. I ran my hand through my hair and my other hand scratched my legs. Still keeping my eyes closed, I continued to fight for sleep in a battle I knew I'm losing.

Footsteps came from somewhere in the vicinity of the kitchen and stopped about seven meters away from me. "Hey! You're awake!"

I yawned once and looked over at Jason, clad in the same white shirt and faded jeans he wore last night, holding a ladle on one hand. He smiled sheepishly when he saw me looking at what he was holding and hid it behind him, "I'm not a very good cook, but my food's bearable. C'mon, I have coffee and eggs." With that, he walked back to the kitchen.

I sat up and craned my neck to work out the stiffness that almost overcame it had I slept a few minutes longer. Still scratching my leg, my other hand rubbed against my face as I yawned again. Giving a final stretch, I stood up and walked over to the bathroom, waving at him and pointing to my destination as I passed him.

When I sat at the table, there was a plate of eggs, two slices of bread and steaming coffee waiting for me. "Thanks."

He smiled and sat down, "Where'd ya come from?"

I took a bite form the bread and looked at him, "Huh?"

"Before you arrived here, where'd ya come from?"

"Oh, Earth."

"Yeah? What's it like?" his eyes were actually gleaming with interest.

How do I explain this? "Earth is…okay, I guess."

"Okay? That's all you have to say? Man, you must travel a lot!"

I smiled at him and took a sip of the coffee, "You can say that."

He looked down on his plate and started to push his breakfast around it, "I'd like to travel. I never left this place."

I peered at him from behind my bangs, "Yeah? Where'd you like to go?"

He smiled, "I dunno. Anywhere. Just to get out of this god forsaken place."

Fingering the handle of my cup, I looked at him. He still looked the same as when I saw him first yesterday, but now I saw that under his eyes were bags, so big, so dark and so deep. He looked like he never slept in ages. I tried to look at him closer and realized that maybe this boy's the same age as me, but the bags under his eyes and the almost haggard look he had because of his obvious lack of sustenance made him look older, "How old are you?"

"15."

Fifteen. "Where are you from?"

"I live on the outskirts of town. Around the edge of L2. I used to watch the other colonies from my house at night."

The outskirts. If I'm not mistaken, it's where most of the farmers live. L2 is not exactly the best place to grow plants, but sometimes the government sells seeds for the farmers to plant and that's what's supposed to feed the whole place. "Why'd you move to the city?"

He gave me a sad smile, "Why does everyone do? To earn more money than what the farm offers us."

"Ah."

Moments of silence reigned the place for a while. "Do you?"

He looked at me, surprised by the question that seemed to pop up out of the blue, "Huh?"

"Do you…earn more here?"

"I don't know. I'd like to think so. But don't get me wrong. This is not all I want to be."

So, he has a dream._ Well, of course Duo, he has a dream. Everyone does. _Not me. "What do you want to be?"

He suddenly got this dreamy look in his eyes, "I want to be a singer."

I almost choked on my eggs with his answer, "A singer?"

He continued to smile at me, "Yep. I'll be famous and I'll go different places and I'll visit Earth and I'll perform for the queen and…"

I smiled at him. "Well, that's quite a dream, isn't it?"

"You think it's stupid?"

"No."  
"That's okay. Everyone else does. I guess that's why up to now I'm serving customers at a deli shop."

I smiled at him, "Naw, it's not stupid. Just…unexpected, I guess."

"Yeah? How about you? Whaddya like to be?"

"Free."

He stopped stirring his coffee and just looked at me. I guess I surprised him with my answer. Well, I guess I'd surprise ANYONE with my answer.

"Why?"

I looked up at him, of course he won't understand. Nobody will. They can't understand unless they're there personally. Seven years ago, I didn't understand what it was like to lose a loved one…several loved ones, actually. During that time I didn't understand how it feels to be trapped. Trapped in a world full of killing. Most of all, seven years ago, I didn't understand what it meant when people say someone grew up too fast. Now I know. "I dunno. I mean, after the war and all, lotsa people died and stuff. I wanna be freed from that."

He stood up and walked to the sink, washing his dishes, "You seem to know about the war firsthand."

I stood up as well and washed my own dishes as he dried his hands, "You might say that."

He looked at me closely, seemed to be studying me. "You're a weird person, Duo. Oh my…fuck! Is that the time? I hafta go! Are ya gonna be alright here?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

He gave me a smile and grabbed his things before slamming the door shut.

~*~

I continued to stare at the computer. For five hours I've been trying and trying and still I can't figure it out. Usually, I have clues to guide me, but now nothing. Not even a speck.__

_Doesn't he wanna be found?_

_Or doesn't he want ME to find him?_

I leaned back on the couch and closed my eyes for a while, remembering the last time I saw him.

(*)-(*)-(*)-(*)-(*)-(*)-(*)

_Duo plopped himself on the bed, "Hey, whatcha doin?"_

_The other boy didn't respond, he just sat in front of the laptop and continued typing furiously._

_"He~ero…"_

_No response. The braided boy smiled wickedly and walked as quietly as possible. He stopped when he was just behind the other man and drew in a deep breath and—_

_"Don't even think about it."_

_Duo's shoulders slumped for a while, but he soon regained his ridiculously wide smile and wound an arm around his partner's shoulder. "Whatcha doin, Hee-chan?"_

_"Mission."_

_Duo's eyes widened, "NANI?! You're doing a mission? But Heero! The war has ended! We don't hafta do missions! We don't hafta do anything! Our lives are our own!" He gestured wildly for emphasis and plopped himself back on the bed._

_Heero looked at him once and closed the laptop. Hearing this, Duo peered at him with a curious expression._ Heero closed his laptop…for me? That's…weird.

_Just then, Heero stood up and went to the closet. He collected his things and placed them all inside his duffel bag. Duo, shocked, continued to stare at him as he moved around the room quietly, but precisely._ Very Heero-ish.

_"Heero…what are you doing?"_

_Cobalt eyes turned to him, "I'm leaving."_

_"Huh?" If it weren't for the big shock it had on him, he might've been able to produce a more intelligible word, but that was all he can do after he watched Heero go out the door._

_Two months later, a package arrived._

(*)-(*)-(*)-(*)-(*)-(*)-(*)

_Kisama, Heero. What do you want from me?_

Digging into my bag, I recovered the contents of the package he sent me. Manga, a piece of paper with numbers written on them, a lock of hair, and a laptop. I laid them all on the center table and stared at them, as baffled as I was when I received it. Manga, he knows I like manga. I checked the paper for anything that might lead me to where he is; I even used all the decoding systems I know to understand it…but no. Nothing. I fingered the lock of hair; it was a mixture of browns, dark and light. Come to think of it, some of it looks like mine. The shade, I mean. It looks like my hair's shade. I don't know what it means though. Moving my eyes to the last item, I frowned. Among the things he sent me, this is what baffled me the most. It was his laptop, I know. I've seen the horribly reliable piece of shit way too many times. Even more than I care to admit. He's practically glued to it, day and night. No, scratch that, every waking moment. And we all know that the Perfect Soldier barely sleeps. The question is: why would he send it to me? This was his life. All mission reports, important files, everything was in here.**__**

_Kisama…he's not…is he?_

I leaned back on the couch and shook my head. No. I know he wants to be found. He wouldn't kill himself. His not that stupid to go and jump to his death after leaving a trace of himself behind. He may be reckless about some things, but not when it comes to security.__

_Then, why…?_

I'm confused. And hungry. I checked the clock and found that I've been sitting here for almost seven hours already. The apartment was now dark and the surroundings outside, dark as well.

Gathering things from the table, including my laptop, and the things he sent me. I'll check on this later, but for now, food. Closing my duffel bag and stuffing it under the couch, I stood up and walked to the kitchen. Maybe I could cook something for dinner. After all, it was the least I could do for Jason, what with him taking me in and all.

I walked to the fridge and frowned.__

_Empty._

_Well, I guess I'll take it upon myself to do the shopping, then._

~*~

I walked around the streets. L2 sure didn't change much since the last time I've been here. Poverty still reeks of this place. Almost every corner, there are people you'd never want to get mixed with ever. Prostitutes, pickpockets, gangs, pimps, the works.

What I don't get is, there are a lot of establishments in this place, not just this area. How come the streets are still full of homeless people and everywhere you look, there's always at least five out of ten unemployed? Who works in these buildings?__

_People from Earth and other colonies. These bastards would fight eye and tooth to get a foreigner to work for them, but would care less if a local would shrivel and die at their feet._

Peering over at a distance, I see a grocery, not two blocks from where I'm standing. I was about to walk in that direction when I felt something tugging at my shirt. Looking down, I saw a boy, about five years old, thin, dirty, wearing tattered clothes and barefoot. Everything that I was before Father Maxwell. Looking at his appearance, he looked like he hadn't eaten for days, and from what I know of a life on the streets, he probably hadn't.

Crouching down to his level, I smiled, "What do you want, boy?"

"C-can I ask for a dime? Just…just for food."__

_"Hello, what can I do for you?"_

_"I…want…need…a quarter…for food."_

_"How about I give you something better?"_

_"Huh?"_

_"How about I take you with me and introduce you to my friends and feed you and bathe you and give you clean clothing? How's that?"_

_"I…I just want to eat…"_

_"Just to eat? You don't want to meet my friends? They're the same age as you…they're really nice…"_

_"Uhm…"_

_"Well, I don't have money here. How about I take you with me and give you something to eat and then you may go? How's that?"_

_"Th-that's…okay."_

"Mister…"

Snapping from my daydream, I blinked and was again face to face with the young boy, instead of Father Maxwell's kind face. "Yes?"

"Dime…" he said, wide, innocent eyes looking at me expectantly.

I smiled at him and ruffled his hair, "How about this, I take you with me and let's buy you something to eat?"

The boy stared at me blankly. Well, what do I expect? He'd just jump into my arms and declare me hero of the decade? After all, with the times nowadays, you can't trust anyone offering you something like that. And looking at the boy, it seems like he found out about this at a young age. Besides, I know I must look innocent as well, but I doubt I have the same kind face as Father Maxwell or the gentleness of Sister Helen. Of course the boy would regard me skeptically.

"Well?" I asked and pointed down the road, "You see that grocery down there? That's where I'm going. If you want, I can buy you something to eat there."

He smiled and nodded vigorously. Success. Standing up, I offered him my hand and we walked down the road to the grocery.

His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates the moment we walked in. guess he hasn't seen this much food in his life.

"Hey you! Scram before I call the police! How many times do I have to tell you street brats to stay out of my store?!" An angry woman proceeded to shout at my little companion when she saw him enter. It didn't matter to her that I was holding the boy's hand to say that he came with me, she wanted him out. Well, at least her voice and tone told me that.

"I'm sorry ma'am. But, he's with me." I said with a smile. If a smile won't reach them, I'd hate to resort to other ways.

The woman—she was fat, her face filled with almost five layers of makeup, and her nails which were carefully coated in red nail polish—eyed us both with displease when I stood up for the boy. "Fine. But I don't want him destroying anythin in my shop. He ruins it, you pay for it, understand?"

I smiled at the lady, but made a face and a mock salute when we walked past her, my little friend snickered. "So, whaddya wanna eat, er…what's your name?"

"Francis."

"Hmm…Francis, eh? Well, what d'ya wanna eat, Francis?" I asked as we walked through the snacks section. He pointed to a bag of Doritos®. "Are you sure that's what you wanna eat? It doesn't exactly satisfy your hunger, you know."

He shrugged. I told him to stay still for a minute while I get us a cart. When I went back with the cart, I shoved the bag of Doritos® in it and started walking, I also grabbed some other snacks for the house. When we reached the bread section, I asked him again what he wanted and he just shook his head.

"What? You think this would be enough for you?" He smiled slightly at me and looked ahead. Impossible. No one can live on snacks alone, I can vouch for that. Looking briefly at the racks, I grabbed a loaf, a bag of cheese bread, and other assortments of bread I can't identify, but know from looking at it that would taste good. Francis looked at me wide eyed. "Don't worry kid, there's room for more."

After half an hour of grabbing stuff and dropping them in the cart, I paid almost two hundred dollars on grocery alone. I guess I kind of overdid it. We stepped out of the place carrying four bags with us. "So, where'd ya live?"

"Over there." He pointed to an area, almost a block away.

I peered at it from the darkness. It grew dark the short time we were in the store, "There? But, that's just an empty lot."

"C'mon!" he cajoled me to walk after him in his supposed house's direction. We arrived at the empty lot and he pulled me to a dark alley. I know I'm capable of defending myself should any trouble arise, but instantly I was afraid for him. When we reached the other side of the alley, I was surprised to see that it was filled with shanties. Almost twenty-five families live in the area that looks not bigger than eighty square meters. And all of them eyeing me like they're planning on eating me alive or something. He pulled me to a small—actually, all of them are small—hut, almost the same size as Jason's bathroom. I'm serious! It was really small.

We entered the house and what appeared in front of me almost tore at my heart and made me want to kill those OZ bastards all over again. I admit, L2 really is a poor colony since time immemorial, but the war brought this colony's situation to simply unbearable. I already painted a picture of what I saw here, and I've only arrived. I bet I'd see more as the days go by.

Francis dropped his bags on the floor and bounded over to a bed pushed against the plywood, which served as a wall. "Mister, this is my mother. Mom, this kind man took me shopping and bought me stuff for us to eat!"

The woman who had been lying on the bed looked worse for the wear. If I thought that my life couldn't go worse when the Maxwell church was bombed, I couldn't imagine what it was like living like this. It was hard enough that I was alone, but to have someone else to take care of—an old, sick woman at that—would be downright depressing.

The woman looked at me with tears in her eyes, "Thank you so much…I have no idea how to repay you…I…"

I smiled at her and held my hand up, "No need for that. I did it because I want to…"

"But, I have to thank you, Mr…"

"Maxwell. I assure you, helping you was all the thanking I need." And with that, I placed all the bags in my hand on their floor and walked out.

Behind me, I could hear Francis' eager voice, telling his mom how he thought I was an angel when I offered to buy him food. I could also feel his neighbor's pricking eyes as they followed me as I walked out of their little village, through the alley and into the street. Vaguely, I realized that I left both Francis and his mother's food AND the food I bought for the house. And I spent a lot of money on that, too.

But I just shrugged and smiled. It doesn't matter. They deserve it. They need it. I have more where it came from. I wasn't Heero Yuy's partner for nothing, you know.

Argh…but I'd be hungry…

AN: Okay, I know Duo's sickeningly OOC, but I was trying to show how much he matured during the war and changed more after it. Tell me if you hate it.


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